A couple of months ago, the clock in our kitchen died after fifteen years of ruling our roost. It was a simple vintage number I had acquired at Rejuvenation back when we were living in a 1910 farmhouse with red-and-white checkerboard Formica flooring, and it never did fit our current home.
So instead of replacing it, we took it down, and my husband decided to use it as a frame for a picture he painted of an astronaut looking into the limpid mien of of an alien. Now, whenever anyone asks what time it is, someone in our family says: “Well, it looks like alien astronaut o’clock.”
This was at the back of my mind as I was reading a great new feature “The Dawn of the Dumb House” by Kristen Bateman for Town & Country magazine, which is probably the most interesting design story I’ve read about the home space this year. Bateman takes on the increasing movement by very smart people to “dumb down” their homes as much as possible, which is to say, to have less and less tech in their personal space.
(Honestly, it reminds me a bit of the movement ten years ago where techie parents of small children were geting rid of plastic toys, electronic toys, branded items, in favor of good old wooden blocks and Waldorf dolls. Why are these folks filling our lives with tech when they know what its overabundance is doing to us?)
Bateman’s sources chalk this up to these homeowners understanding how quickly technology changes, and not wanting to have to update continuously while occupying a space.
“Many of my clients who work in the technology world tend to forgo highly advanced homes often because they are acutely aware of change,” Fulk says. What they want, he adds, are environments that age gracefully without frequent, irksome updates.
— from Kristen Bateman’s T&C piece “The Dawn of the Dumb House”
She also sites the level of disconnect we can feel when we encounter homes with technology that hasn’t been updated — like stepping into a Jetson’s cartoon, all style and little utility.
“There’s nothing luxurious about technology anymore,” says the designer Stephanie Roy-Heckl.
— from Kristen Bateman’s T&C piece “The Dawn of the Dumb House”
Yes, many people want right now is a place apart from technology, whether that be hiding a television screen behind a beautiful panel or going in on stylistic choices that speak to eras with far less tech. As we have become more dependent on it for work, communication, and commerce, we want less of it at home.
But the biggest reasons for having a dumb home are spiritual and psychological.
We need a break. We need rest.
Where else can we get those things, if we bring the entire world through our front doors all the livelong day?
This, I think, is why it’s always alien o’clock at my house. We haven’t stopped glancing up at the clock — or at least, where a clock once was — when we want to know what time it is. The whole act has gone from quirky/funny to meaningful/transcendent because it has opened up a whole new way for us to experience time. We can know time is limited and still want to feel that it has no limits when we are together.
Sometimes it feels mad. Our visitors certainly think so. We’ll probably put a clock up there again at some point.
But for now, I am welcoming a bit of the dumb into my home life. It helps remind me of the gift of boundaries and the solace of choice.
This week’s obsession: Belgian-American floral artist Françoise Weeks
I’m coming off the last few weeks of editing Oregon Home’s Spring Color issue, which is always a big moment for me as it’s my favorite to work on. And this one was extra special as I’ve been waiting for years for Françoise Weeks to put out a book of her woodland-themed floral arrangements and the chance to interview her for the magazine (check out the story here). She was just as delightful, spritely and sweet as I had imagined. You can follow her on Instagram, but be prepared to have your mind blown and your forest-loving heart cracked open. And do check out her book, especially if you love wild and wonderful art made with foraged items.
Zillow find: This amazing beach house
In my Zillow wanderings, I often find myself out on the spit near Gleneden Beach, on the Oregon Coast. Once, I had looked at the house at the end of the road so often that Zillow assumed that I owned it. I got regular updates on my fantasy life for a few years before they realized I had no connection to the property beyond longing.
But this week. THIS WEEK! This one came up. It is so strange, this home, like a faceted gem (and we know how I like those). It’s a work by Portland architect Don Vallister, built in 1979 (the year of my birth), and it has so much charm in how it breaks up space on the beachfront. It has two of my favorite things: Saunas and stained glass. The photographer must have had quite a challenge capturing it — some of the spaces don’t make any sense. Is it a bedroom? Is that the bath? I’m not sure if I want this house, but I definitely want IN.
Brilliant post, as always, Emily. I'm going to go unplug my Google home device right this minute.